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Catceptual

Michael and every else in fact were pretty worried that Sheogorath had somehow managed to bypass the Veil of Akatosh. He knew for sure the mad god hadn't followed him through his Dimension Gates, nor had he brute-forced his passage either... Thankfully, the Daedra didn't seem to be immediately hostile, so Michael was fine letting him be for the time being... After he maximized the defences of the Eye of Magnus and the Spire as a whole.

Of course, this left another problem to deal with. The 'recent' death of Jarl Korir and his family... The whole Winterhold found it strange that a lesser Daedra had appeared in their house, but most assumed that the Jarl had been up to something, or was simply just assassinated. Michael didn't feel the need to explain what'd happened, so for now it was a mystery.

This, obviously, left the position of Jarl up for grabs, something Michael, most of the city, and even the Arch-Mage of the new Winterhold College wished to see finalized soon. This was mainly due to 'High King Surtr's' new highly militaristic and expansive attitude towards Skyrim.

If Surtr heard of Korir's death before a new Jarl was installed he'd force a candidate of his own to take the spot. Which would either cause everyone to refuse and fight back, resulting in a war, or accept and be led by Surtr's puppet.

There were many willing and able candidates, some even voting to have him or his companions take the place. He and the others refused, no one wanting to take up such responsibilities.

Michael's personal choice was to have Ennura take the seat, as the Head Librarian in her home world she was well versed in most subjects a Jarl would know, delegation, wisdom, planning, politicking, and business being just a few.

Having a non-Nord become Jarl would set great precedence too, making it known to all that Winterhold was a place that everyone could seek their fortune in, the only thing holding you back being your own talent and efforts.

Some wanted a mage Jarl due to Korir's known dislike of them, and some wanted a Nord like Dagur who owned the Frozen Hearth, who was an original resident and well known by the community. Unfortunately for everyone else, Michael's sponsorship and the support of the Eredar quickly had Ennura taking her seat as Jarl of Winterhold. A Courier was soon sent to inform Surtr of the change.

During all of this Michael was forced out from the Spire, allowing people to see the 'new him', the ones with the biggest reactions being the Arch-Mage and Masters of the College, and most Eredar who could innately sense magic.

While it was kind of funny to have Masters faint at his mere presence, it was the Arch-Mage's response that got the biggest laugh out of him...

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"Foul Daedra! What have you done with Michael, and how have you possessed his body!?" Savos Aren exclaims as his hands shine brightly with prepared spells. Outside of that, the man was also heavily sweating, knowing that he was probably dead due to a Daedric Lord being fully manifest before him.

Michae smirks at him and leans forward, "BOO!"

"Hiiya!" the old Dunmer exclaims out in shock, launching a huge fireball that shoots over Michael's shoulder and into the sky, his scare causing his spell to stray.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

...

"What...?"

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Yeah, Savos hadn't forgiven him for that one even two weeks later... Still worth it.

With his new free time he also explored his new abilities, particularly his Conceptual ones. With a thought he could now instantly kill creatures. He'd tested it on rabbits, fish, cats, and wolves. All of them had the same result. To be honest, he wasn't exactly sure how to expand this ability from there... What else is there to Death?

His other Concepts were easier to understand, Pacts, Bargains, and Deals all sort of came under one umbrella, if with a few small variations. Pacts were better with things concerning restrictions and bindings.

Bargains were better with things concerning wealth or anything with a perceived value.

And Deals dealt with Promises or exchanges made with force and under duress.

Again though, most of the time they could all be used interchangeably from what he observed. This was only a service-level analysis from testing and Clavicus' own memories.

His Concept of 'Power' was one of the more confusing ones... It wasn't anything like how it was presented in the Marvel movies concerning the Infinity Stone. From talks with his friends and his speculations on the small things he could do with it, he came to a few understandings.

Power didn't exist in a vacuum. Without anything to measure it against it simply didn't exist. This meant that the Concept of Power was more attuned to having 'Power over something' instead of simply 'Having Power'. Again, what this realistically meant still somewhat went over his head.

The Concept didn't grant him infinite power or something akin to that, instead, he was able to subvert the minds of people under him. Those who a lesser position or was drastically weaker than himself.

Strangely, this also allowed him to affect objects too... He could force changes in a stone he held in his grasp, forcing it to turn orange, or become lighter. Anything more advanced than this however still evaded him.

Clavicus didn't actually know much about the Concept or Power, he had a bare understanding of it and only used to on his servants at whim. He probably only declared it to be under his control to intimidate the other Daedric Princes.

Lastly, Michael had the Concepts of 'Moon', 'Khajiit', and 'Gratification'. The former two Clavicus had only recently gained in his life, having stolen them from Azura during the Moon Sickness. This meant the Daedric Prince had literally no idea what worth they were...

This is my explanation for Clavicus' Concept of Power, it didn't suit his overall character so I imagined that it played a different purpose entirely.

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

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Faruk Ereng

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